osu45804;517092 wrote:The Defense is very good, but when you're on the field most of the game a lot of those late scores will happen when they are worn out.
New England agrees. Not about the "on the field most of the game" or the "they are worn out" parts, but about the "a lot of those late scores will happen" part. As that's how their game with Cinci went. They scored early and often against the Bengals defense, while shutting down the offense. Then, in the second half, Cinci tried their hardest to make things semi-respectable by getting a lot of those late scores happening against a team trying to coast through the final 30 minutes.
I mean, be real... You guys have had back-and-forth, tooth-and-nail games with every non-NE team you've faced. Take week one away and it's a full season of "grind out wins or grind out losses" for you. When exactly have the Bengals lost because the other team took advantage of their depleted defense? The culprit seems to be how Cinci's offensive dudes can't execute with consistency and neither group picks the other up. Like, everyone showed up to play against Baltimore and you did great...but then got beat by the Browns and Bucs back-to-back?
I think the problem is that Cinci management doesn't get that when chemistry is lacking (due to things like signing a lot of name guys who may have had "issues" with ego or the law), consistent success may not happen. I can't imagine this being a "we're all on the same page!" locker room.